Eight Luxury Stores Including Chanel And Gucci Open At High-Traffic Chinese Airports

Signaling the relative buoyancy of the Chinese travel retail market, Lagardère Travel Retail has opened eight fashion and beauty boutiques in the busy Chinese airports of Shanghai Hongqiao and Shenzhen.

Among the six stores at Hongqiao Airport—China’s eighth busiest gateway with 46 million passengers last year—an 860 square foot Chanel beauty and accessories store marks the French brand’s first store in a domestic airport terminal in China.

Lagardère Travel Retail has managed three other firsts: a 710 square foot new-concept outlet selling cosmetics and fragrances from Givenchy, the first in any Chinese airport; a 720 square foot Shiseido boutique selling perfume and cosmetics which is the Japanese brand’s first store in a domestic airport in China; and a large 1,000 square foot fashion store from Sandro—the first airport unit worldwide for the Parisian brand. Smaller units have also been opened for Parfums Christian Dior and Gucci, the latter selling fashion jewelry and watches only.

Meanwhile in Shenzhen, which borders the special administrative region of Hong Kong, new brand partners for Lagardère Travel Retail—Cartier and Burberry—have opened large boutiques at 1,600 and 1,440 square feet selling high-end jewelry, watches and accessories, and fashion respectively. Shenzhen Airport was China’s fifth busiest gateway in 2019 with almost 53 million passengers.

Lagardère Travel Retail says that the luxury boutique openings build on the speedy return of domestic air traffic in China, as well as good growth in domestic consumption. According to travel analytics company ForwardKeys, domestic air travel in China has been recovering progressively in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak that originated in Wuhan, and where containment of novel coronanvirus was subsequently successful.

ForwardKeys data show that by the second week of August, domestic arrivals at Chinese airports reached 86% of 2019 levels and bookings (issued air tickets) hit 98%, most of them for travel in mid to late August. Strict safety and hygiene rules enforced throughout the country have encouraged Chinese residents to travel domestically, helping to boost intra-Chinese traffic.

Return to pre-crisis levels is breathtaking

Eudes Fabre, CEO for North Asia at Lagardère Travel Retail, North Asia, commented: “It has been breathtaking to observe how fast domestic traffic has returned to pre-crisis levels, and how eager Chinese shoppers have been to come back to our stores. The growth of the country’s middle class and its appetite for luxury brands has supported a sharp rebound in our business here.” China offers hope versus the rest of the global duty-free market which “remains an uncertain environment” he added somewhat understatedly.

Having entered the Chinese travel market in 2007, Lagardère Travel Retail’s experience—now extending to more than 400 stores in 26 airports—has given the company the trust of luxury players looking to target local traveling consumers. The French retailer is looking to build on that advantage.

Lagardère Travel Retail—one of two divisions within France’s Lagardère Group—recently divided up the Asia-Pacific region with the appointment of two chief operating officers. The rationale, CEO Dag Dag Rasmussen told Forbes.com was “to address two very different environments”, with Greater China having strong growth opportunities while the Pacific—like the rest of the world—in a “more downbeat” situation.

A new report from Mintel INTC on the Chinese consumer predicts that, with the Covid-19 outbreak largely under control despite some reported new cases, total consumer expenditure will see a contraction of 5.6% this year “largely dragged down by reduced spending in Q1.”

However within specific sectors such as beauty/personal care and clothing accessories, recovery within 12 months should be in place, with the clothing and accessories market expected to stabilise at a CAGR of about 4.7% for the next five years according to research analyst Summer Xia. Senior analyst Yali Jiang added: “Limited impact of Covid-19 was seen on beauty and personal care. Consumers’ fundamental need for better BPC solutions is unlikely to be shaken.”

Lagardère Travel Retail generated €5.5 billion in total managed sales in 2019 (which includes 100% of turnover from joint ventures) in airports, rail stations and other concessions. The sales are generated from 4,800 stores across three retail segments: travel essentials; duty-free and fashion; and foodservice in in 39 countries and territories.

Speak Your Mind

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Get in Touch

350FansLike
100FollowersFollow
281FollowersFollow
150FollowersFollow

Recommend for You

Oh hi there 👋
It’s nice to meet you.

Subscribe and receive our weekly newsletter packed with awesome articles that really matters to you!

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

You might also like

CDC Reverses Its Controversial Guidelines on Coronavirus Testing

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday reversed a controversial recommendation...

U.S., Colombia to bring $5 billion in investment to...

BOGOTA The United States and Colombia will work together to bring new investment...